The invention disclosed herein relates generally to verification systems, and in particular, to a system and method for authenticating a document or other item from indicia included thereon.
Traditionally, businesses have deposited checks received from, for example, customers by physically taking them to a branch of their bank and depositing them over the counter with a teller or dropping them into a night deposit box. The actual physical presentation of the checks to be deposited was necessary because, under prior banking laws, the depository bank had to present the original of each check to the corresponding paying bank in order to clear the check. This changed in October of 2004 with the enactment of The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, commonly referred to Check 21. Check 21 removed the legal requirement that an original paper check had to be presented to obtain payment. Instead, digital images can now be used to transport check data, for example, from a customer to the bank of first deposit and/or from the bank of first deposit to the paying bank. If a bank cannot process a check image, the image can be printed, according to certain specifications, to create what is known as a substitute check, which is the legal equivalent of the original paper check. Check 21 has thus opened the door for remote check deposit solutions wherein check images, rather than original paper checks, are used to make deposits, thereby enabling businesses to eliminate trips to the bank. In addition, the use of check images also reduces check transportation costs among banks and improves funds availability.
For obvious reasons, such as to prevent fraud, it is important to be able to authenticate checks at various points in the banking system. Many checks incorporate sophisticated anti-counterfeiting measures such as engraved printing, specialized color patterns, embossed markings, holograms, and embedded security strips. Furthermore, the handwritten signature on a check is another feature that enhances security. Not only is the written pattern of the signature difficult to manually reproduce, but the pressure of the pen against the paper during the process of writing the signature creates a relief pattern (i.e., a depression in the paper). Prior to Check 21, presentation of the original check provided the depository bank and/or the paying bank an opportunity to examine whether the submitted check included one or more of these anti-counterfeiting measures and whether the handwritten signature was original. By examining the original check, the bank was more readily able to detect a forgery, unauthorized alterations (e.g., adding a “0” to increase the amount of a check from $10 dollars to $100 dollars), etc.
Although providing several benefits (e.g., eliminating trips to the bank, reducing check transportation costs, and improving funds availability), the implementation of Check 21 magnifies many security challenges because the original check, in most instances, is not available for examination. More specifically, most if not all of the anti-counterfeiting measures mentioned above are rendered ineffectual when a check is converted to a relatively low resolution digital image. Embossed markings and the relief pattern of the handwritten signature, for example, reproduce very poorly in photographs and/or scanned images because lighting in such systems is typically designed to be diffuse in order to avoid reflections. As a result, embossed markings and the relief pattern of the handwritten signature completely disappear in scanned images unless side lighting is employed. As another example, the pattern of interference which produces a hologram's three-dimensional image is not reproduced in a scanned image. Thus, the usefulness of holograms as an anti-counterfeiting measure is eliminated.
Elimination of the effectiveness of these anti-counterfeiting measures alone causes serious problems for banks. Compounding this problem is the fact that technology has become so advanced that even standard commercial devices, such as photocopiers and printers, are capable of producing credible copies of documents. Accordingly, a thief may utilize these devices to produce counterfeit documents, which when converted to a digital image, may be nearly impossible to detect as being counterfeit.
Thus, there exists a need for a system and method for authenticating a document or other item from indicia included thereon.